1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sleeper units for motor vehicles and particularly to those useful in an over-the-road tractor having a cab-over-engine design in which the cab is tiltable with respect to the vehicle frame for access to the engine for maintenance and/or repair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
State legislated length restrictions on over-the-road motor vehicles, especially tractor-trailer combinations, have resulted in tractor designs in which the cab is mounted over the engine. Such designs reduce the length of the tractor cab to permit a longer trailer to be used and therefore a larger payload to be transported. Access to the engine for maintenance and/or repair in a cab-over-engine design is usually obtained by tilting the cab forwardly on the vehicle frame. In present cab-over-engine designs which include a bed or sleeper area behind the seats in the cab or above the cab, tilting of the cab results in tilting of the bed, thereby dislodging bed clothes, pillows and any notions which might be in the area. In those designs in which a separate sleeping area or compartment is provided, for example in campers for pick-up trucks, that part of the compartment which extends over the cab would interfere with the tilting of the cab in cab-over-engine type vehicles.